Eliot Marshall Back in the UFC, Faces Luis Cane at UFC 128

Eliot Marshall’s mission to get back to the UFC has paid off. The one time “Ultimate Fighter” competitor has stepped in on short notice to face Luis Cane at UFC 128 in New Jersey.

Sources close to the negotiations confirmed the new bout to MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday. Tatame.com initially reported the change.

Marshall went 3-1 during his time with the UFC following his stint on the eighth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” but was released following a loss to Vladdy Matyushenko last March.

At that point, Marshall made it his personal mission to get back to the UFC. He has since gone on a three-fight win streak to prove that, and now he’s back.

“The goal is the UFC. Let’s not beat around the bush, that’s where the best fighters fight,” Marshall said in an interview with MMAWeekly.com. “Yeah, there’s this guy that’s here, there’s this guy that’s there, and you’re always going to have this talk like ‘what if (Alistair) Overeem or Fedor or whatever.’ You tell me where the best guys fight? They fight in the UFC.”

The original bout between Cane and Karlos Vemola was set to be a part of the Spike TV prelim broadcast, but there’s been no word if the new bout between Marshall and Cane will stay with the same slot.

Marshall will be joined by two teammates on the card as both Nate Marquardt and Brendan Schaub have bouts at UFC 128 as well.